A Happy Birthday GIVEAWAY!!!

 

Happy happy birthday to the Cut Shoppe!! Each of the members of the Design Team are giving away one of our favourite cut files so make sure you visit the other blogs too!  Plus, there's a coupon code for today and tomorrow only TCSBDAY1

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, thanks for playing :D
the WINNER is JUDITH ARMSTRONG!!

It was really hard for me to choose which cutfile to give away but I ended up going with the very first one I ever used, before I was even on the design team.  I don't think it will surprise any one who knows me even in the least that I'm choosing this oldie, but goodie, with a TARDIS!!!

(this layout is a scraplift from Wilna Furstenburg)

 

 

 

It's called GEEKED OUT, awesome right? 

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, thanks for playing :D
the WINNER is JUDITH ARMSTRONG!!

To win all you need to do is:

1.  Sign up to my email list (you'll get a free class!) over in the side bar on the right :D

2. comment below with either your favourite Doctor Who Episode, or if you aren't a Doctor Who fan, well, sorry but we can't be friends!  
Haha, just kidding but seriously go watch it!! (the girl in the fireplace or the one with Van Gogh will get you hooked for sure!) but in the meantime you can tell me your favourite cutfile from the Cut Shoppe instead.

The giveaway will close Tuesday, midnight pacific. :D

To see the other giveaways, visit the other design team members' blogs:

Sheri Twing
Gina Lideros
Kat Benjamin
Tarrah McLean

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And here are a few of the layouts that I've made with other cut files from The Cut Shoppe. 

 

Studio refresh - come and play!

I've done a few improvements to my studio to not only make 'play' time run more smoothly, but also to display and store projects, both finished and in the works.

I make quite a few projects but then I find that they get stored away in an album (ahem after sitting in a stack for way tooooo long) and they don't get seen.  So, after being inspired by Paige Evan's I set up a layout wall, but as you can see I'm having trouble keeping them on my wall! A little more mac tack should do the trick :D

 As far as mini albums are concerned, I bought these shelves to display them ages ago! It took my 13 year old son to figure out how to drill holes into the cement wall and get them installed!

There are a few project kits and half finished mini books and things from various workshops I've taken.  This little cart below the shelves is perfect for those.  Oh look there's that stack of finished layouts waiting to be stored in an album :D 

Below are 2 Alex drawer units from IKEA stacked on top of one another.  I didn't bother with the wheels and this way they make a nice chest of drawers.  It sits right behind my desk so that it's in easy reach.  The drawers are shallow and are perfect for layouts and projects in progress.  The Cath Kidston bowls on top hold mostly die cuts but also enamel dots and little pretty bags and envelopes.  I have a recycle bin on the floor on the left and a box on the right for paper that I am no longer using so that I can give it away.

Here are some of the drawers open (the neater ones!) My memory keeper is in the top one and  everyday (or almost!), I write a little blurb about each day, and I write it right in the drawer!  It's the perfect height to stand and write, simple, fast and easy!

So those are the improvements I've made recently, thanks to Catherine my trusty sidekick and second pair of hands!  They seem small but they have made a HUGE difference in my studio, especially in being able to keep it tidy.  I no longer have half finished projects all over my desk.  They are stored away neat and tidy, but at the same time not tucked away so much that I forget about them.

You can see more photos of my studio HERE.

What are your favourite parts about your creative space?

Are you able to truly tell your stories? A storyteller's tale.

I’m participating in a Blog Link-up with Kris (With a K), from www.withakwriting.com, because she wants to hear about the role writing plays in our businesses.

She is giving a Writing Workshop for entrepreneurs and bloggers, starting May 25th,  and she wants to give away a scholarship to one of the lovely bloggers who participate in this link up. You can participate and get a chance to win too.

Just copy and paste this piece of text into the introduction of your blog post answering the question, “How has writing been beneficial to your business, and what do you want to Craft with your Voice next?” Link back to this post, so any of your friends who are entering will be able to find it for more info.

Finally, go back to Kris’s blog on or after May 12th to add your link to the link-up party there, and you could win a scholarship to her new course: Craft Your Voice. She’ll be drawing a name on the 18th of May for a full scholarship to the 6 week writing course, so you can write and link-up your post any time before then.

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The first time I met up with Kris in August, it was more like meeting up with an old friend rather than someone who I had only recently met online.  She is a wonderful storyteller as well, and we chatted for hours telling stories.  Stories deepen our relationships with one another because we really get to know someone, really know who they are on a deeper level, through sharing their life stories, both big and small.

As I venture into a new 'BIG' Adventure (more details coming soon!), I want to be able to not only use storytelling in my writing as I teach classes, but also to teach others to tell their stories and understand how important their stories truly are.  

I also want my voice to help craft new relationships as I teach.  As a great story captures your attention from the start, draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat, I want my teaching voice to do the same.  I would love to bring more energy and flare to my storytelling both in the stories I tell in my scrapbooks, but also as I teach my classes.

Are you a storyteller?  What stories do you love to tell?  Please share in the comments!

 

How you can make paper lace and doilies with your Silhouette

I used these fantastic digital lace edge fonts from creationcassel.com with my Silhouette to make these fun doilies and lace.  The lace border gave this card an elegant feel.

I bet you are asking why don't I just use a store bought doily?  Well, with these fonts I can chose my own design from a large range and without having to buy an entire package of the same design and I can make it any size I want.  Also, those store bought doilies are thin and flimsy and with these fonts I can add stitching holes to a nice sturdy piece of cardstock and stitch a border.  See this previous post to learn how to add stitching holes.

Store bought doilies and lace are usually white, but with these fonts I can chose any colour I want, like this mint for example :D

 

Some helpful tips:
*Use upper case versions of the fonts, they will cut easier.
*They take a while to cut, so be patient, it's worth the wait.
*Use the toggle button on your Silhouette to get the design to wrap around a circle to make a doily.
*Some of the designs are more intricate than others so they are a bit harder to cut out, so if you want to use one of these, then make sure you enlarge it.

Now, what are you waiting for?  Hurry and grab a set today and get cutting :D

Lace Edge fonts

My views on the Fun Planner Trend :D

It's important to realise that each group is completely different and has their own reasons for owning and using a planner and that not any one group is any better than any of the others.  We are all different and we all need and love different things in planners as in any other things in life :D  I don't think that we can compare one with the others and that they are 3 very separate groups.

Now where do I fit in this list? ;) If you know me well, you know that I love to plan.  I NEED and LOVE to have a plan for any project big and small, so I am definitely in the first category.  I've been using a planner for as long as I can remember, since my mom gave me a free one she got when she bought her Christmas cards when I was 8 or 9. HOWEVER, I am a papercrafter, scrapbooker and memory keeper!  So decorating a planner is fun for me.  But, I don't decorate my everyday-plan-my-life planner.  I do add fun cards, clips etc, but the pages are pretty plain.  Just a bunch of pencilled lists and notes.

I like to decorate my Memory Planner, which I'm using more like Project Life.

I'm participating in a Listers Gotta List challenge on instagram, but that's more like a scrapbook than a planner anyway :D

So there you have it!  Now, where you do fit in?  If you would like to be more of a life-long planner, but can't seem to get a planner to work for you, please check out my Practically Perfect Planner class.  I will help you discover what you really need from a planner first, before choosing which planner you will use.  And it will be a planner that works the way you need it to work :D Registration closes Saturday, May 2 at midnight Pacific so hurry and grab your spot!! Extended one day!! Sunday May 3 at midnight!